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August 2, 2011
Carlos Carrasco was given a six game suspension yesterday by Major League Baseball for throwing at the head of the Royals’ Billy Butler last Friday. Carrasco, for the record, claims he was not throwing at Butler on purpose. The evidence against him is pretty damaging though.
The incident came one batter after Melky Cabrera paused to admire his grand slam homer. There is no question that Cabrera took an extra long time getting out of the batter’s box. There is also no excuse for throwing a pitch at Butler’s head either. The usual retaliation for such a grandstanding gesture would be to put a pitch in Melky’s side the next time he came to bat. If you are of the opinion that such retaliation is necessary. The pitch at Butler’s head was a dangerous situation and needed to be addressed.
Carrasco will appeal the suspension, and could be successful in getting it reduced from 6 games to say 5 games, but I can’t imagine it being lessened beyond a start. He and the Angels’ Jared Weaver will likely end up with similar punishments. Until his appeal is heard, he will be allowed to pitch, which includes tomorrow’s game against the Red Sox.
The suspension does come at an interesting time, as Carrasco finds himself in a bit of a fight for the 5th spot in the rotation, something that seemed ridiculous to say at the end of June when he was arguably the Tribe’s best pitcher. Since June he is 0-5 with a 9.13 ERA. His competition is David Huff, who has pitched very well since being called up. Huff makes his third start tonight, sporting a 1-1 record with a 0.71 ERA. Also in Huff’s favor- he is the Tribe’s only left-handed starter.
For those wondering, Carrasco cannot serve his suspension in the minors. He must be on the active MLB roster while serving the suspension.
Update: Carrasco plans to drop his appeal after his start on Wednesday night; his suspension will begin Thursday through the start of the series against Detroit.
13 Comments
this is a huge mistake. not only does Carrasco deserve his suspension, but he is possibly moving it from a game against the Red Sox to a game against the Tigers.
we have 12 games left against the Tigers and need to do our best in those games. not sure if Carrasco is our best right now, but he can be and I do not like the idea of moving the suspension.
does this mean he has to miss 5 starts? or does he just have to be on the active rooster but “suspended” meaning hes not available? so basically 2 starts?
they give Starting pitchers 6 game suspensions so it assures they will miss one start
Suspension aside, Carrasco better be lights out tomorrow or he should be on the next bus to Columbus. Im not sure at this point if we should just cut our losses with this guy and try to deal him in the offseason. Right now, hes looking like the pitching version of Milton Bradley, talented, but way too much of a head case to ever be reliable.
Are you kidding Ghost? This is his rookie year. He was dominant the entire month of June. We should just give up on him? Outside of this one incident how has he been a headcase?
@Rick – I am by no means supporting dumping Carrasco. I think he has far too much talent and just needs more MLB time to iron a few things out.
However, he does seem to melt down over little things. An error to extend an inning, a bloop hit, etc. Again, I think maturity is just what is needed here, but I can see where Ghost came from on his angle.
Are you kidding Rick? You havent seen him throwing hissy fits on the mound every time something doesnt go his way? You didnt see him trash the dugout after a couple errors in the field against the Giants? And BTW hes been a total trainwreck on the mound since that game, with this Billy Butler incident just being the tip of the iceberg. The kid has talent but no composure, you cant be a successful big league pitcher with thin skin, and he has it.
I’ll continue to root for the guy as long as hes wearing an Indian uniform. But I dont mind saying it, Im not a big fan of his at the moment. Ive soured on him to the point where I question whether or not he will or should be part of our long term plans. Maybe its not too late to get him under control, we shall see.
If Carrasco had received the same amount of run and defensive support that Masterson has got this year I would have fully expected Carlos to fight a teammate in the dugout. There is no way you give up on the talent but he needs to have a little chat with Justin or Tomlin on how to conduct yourself.
One small difference between Weaver’s throw and Carrasco’s is that the Angels and Tigers were warned literally right before that pitch. I don’t know that that means Carrasco shouldn’t get 6 games, but it’s just a worthwhile note.
Also, Weaver has normally pinpoint control. For him to suddenly miss like that in that situation is like the old Maddux-Hershiser argument. Carrasco, sadly, is not quite that good.
@Ezzie
Come on, we all know that he threw at Butler’s head on purpose.
WFNY’S favorite commentators Manning and Underwood have noted numerous times that Carrasco gets frustrated easily. If he could work on his attitude and control, I would still give him a shot.
Do you guys remember CC early in his career? He’d fold like a house of cards the first time someone didn’t make a play behind him or a bloop hit dropped in. I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty happy the Tribe stuck with him.
Carrascos just turned 24. I did some pretty immature things when I was 24. Give the kid some time.
@Anthony – Oh, I agree. I just mean that Weaver will have an even harder time claiming it wasn’t on purpose.